The Burnett Family

Hello again

2011-07-31T20:12:00.000-07:00

This summer has been an interesting one. It is SO hot in Florida that there isn't a lot to do outside, so we've been forced to be creative. Some activities that we came up with were....

*Made slime

*Made edible playdough

*Swam....lots of it

*Played dress up with our dog, Cooper

*Played Pokemon

*Earned money for chores

*Made homemade ice cream (for a Pioneer day FHE)

*Took a trip to Cincinnati to visit family

*Husband went on a fishing trip to Alaska with the brother-in-laws and my Dad

*Spencer and I both broke a toe

*Jake got his tooth knocked out

*And lots of imaginitive play

We've tried to stay pretty busy, but the kids still feel "cooped up" in our little house and ask everyday "what do we do now?"

We still have a couple more weeks until school starts. What kind of things have you done this summer?

Spencer's Baptism, 10/9/10

2011-07-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

Spencer's Baptism was wonderful. It was just what I thought it would be like. My wonderful family drove all the way from Cincinnati, except for my sister Alissa and her family, whom we missed SO much! It always feels so incomplete without everyone there.

We had a BLAST!! Here are some of the things we did together......

All the boys ready to swim in Nana and Popi's hotel pool!!

Having a picnic at the park...

Played with one of my cutie patootie pie nephews. Oh, I just couldn't get enough of his blue eyes and yummy cheeks!

Lauryn couldn't get enough of "Baby Evan" either!

Attempting a pyramid....

Cousins enjoying time together....

Dan with the Bishop and 1st Counselor at the baptism

Me and my beautiful Mom....

Spencer and his cousin, James.

My sister Heather and her baby Evan

Family photo

Spencer with Daddy

Here's my sweet boy straight out of the waters of baptism, pure and clean......

I love this...nothing makes me more happy!

At the reception afterwards. Sorry, Dan, I just couldn't resist :-)

It warms my heart so much that he decided on his own to be baptized. That is what I want for all my children. That they have their own desire within them to do what is right, follow the commandments, and keep a close relationship with our Heavenly Father. We have the gift of free agency and as my children get older, it's becoming a reality to me that they have to start making decisions on their own and be accountable for them. I just hope and pray they are good ones!

Critters

2011-02-23T21:15:00.000-08:00

So, we got a puppy for Christmas and it's been hard. REALLY hard! I can't wait until he's older, housebroken, and calmer. It just stresses me out to have ANOTHER thing to worry about. We also thought the kids would step up more than they have been. A lot of times when I ask them (my 8 and 5 yr. old) to take the dog out to do a job, they whine and cry and have a major attitude about it! I thought dogs were suppose to be a good thing for children. A best friend. A playmate. Well, I guess we haven't gotten to that point yet.

Also, dogs bring in pests. FLEAS! OMGosh!! If any of you know me, you know that my worst fears are spiders and cockroaches. Well, fleas aren't my favorite either!!!! I felt bad for the poor puppy 'cause he was, and still is, scratching like crazy. We got some flea medication, Advantage, in the tube. The kind that you squirt on the skin in between the shoulder blades. Well, he was just fine the first day. The next morning his fur had a pretty bad chemical stink and he started to act really strange. He slept for almost 6 hrs. in the morning and then when he got up he couldn't walk straight. It was like he couldn't get his balance or he was dizzy and his head would wobble back and forth. He would run around crazy and then he would have no energy, no appetite, and just wanted to lay down. I started to freak out a little since this is our first dog and I was afraid of killing it! Dan called the Vet and got NO help AT ALL! They had NO idea what was wrong with him. They just said to watch him and if he didn't get any better by 8am the next morning, to bring him in. So, that night we did A LOT of research online and finally came to the conclusion that our dog had overdosed on the flea meds and we immediately gave him a bath. We gave him the exact amount of meds the vet had prescribed for us, for how much he weighed, but I guess it was still too much for the little guy. We were sure glad we figured that one out and know how to avoid that one next time. He was back to normal by the next morning. Whew! And we think we have it under control and have an appointment made with our "bug lady" next week to come and spray the yard and house for bugs and fleas.

THEN a couple days after all that, I found a swarm of dead bugs on my windowsill!!! AAAAHHH!! I'm freaking out! We are being invaded! Dan said they could be termites or flies. Well, I was sure praying they were flies! We sent a picture to our "bug lady" and researched these babies online again......what did we do before the internet? holy cow! Anyway to our dismay, we found out that we have TERMITES!! OH. MY. GOODNESS! I am still freaking out! So we had a termite person come out and take a look, and it only took her all of 2 seconds to shine her flashlight up the wall above our front window to give us the diagnosis. There were 3 TINY little holes that I never even noticed before that they were coming out of. Turns out they've eaten all the way up our front wall to the ceiling and we have NO idea what the damage looks like on the inside. (*sigh* and thinking of $$). So the wall is "active" and needs to be treated. This just makes makes me sick to my stomach! You can probably figure out the rest of the story.........we now have a "termite lady" coming to our house on Friday to solve this problem too!

Oh how I hate bugs! I bet the Garden of Eden was AMAZING!!

Thoughts...

2011-02-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

This post might be all over the place, but....

I've been thinking a lot lately. About anything and everything. Deep and not so deep. What is our REAL purpose/mission in this life. Am I doing the right thing? What is next on my "to do" list, did I play with my children enough today, did I take the dog out, do we have enough money, why won't my children obey, did I appreciate my husband enough today, did I remember to email so and so, etc, etc.....I could go ON AND ON. But I've found that I do my best thinking when it's late at night and the house is perfectly quiet. The kids are asleep and my husband is out of town. I haven't had any major revelations, but I've felt the Spirit. I know He is aware of me and my worries and stresses. I make mistakes everyday, but tomorrow is another day and I can try to do better next time. I'm getting "older" and I forget a lot more, my knee pops, and my wrists have a constant dull pain, but it just reminds me that this life is but a short moment. We need to look at the BIG picture.

I've been reading the New Testament to my kids at the bus stop every morning and it's been such a great blessing, but also a struggle. My 8 yr. old dreads every minute of it and makes sure that I know he doesn't like it, but my 5 yr. old and 2 yr. old have come up with some pretty amazing questions. We were reading in Matthew about the event of Christ's crucifixion and when Jesus died, He cried out to the Father and said, "It is finished." My 5 yr. old said, "but isn't Heavenly Father, Jesus?" You have to understand that he is going to preschool at a private Baptist school where they teach the children that the Godhead is one being. So we got into quite the discussion about how we believe there are 3 separate beings and we know that is true, but we can still respect his teacher for believing what she believes without judgement because we are all children of God.

I love moments like that. It makes me really sad that I don't have very many with my 8 yr. old and I wonder why that is, but I'll never give up trying. I can just see what our lives are gonna be like when he is a teenager.......ugh....but I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father who has entrusted these little spirits in my care. I want to teach them, protect them, and love them and I just hope I am doing it the way the Lord wants me to.

Halloween Fun!!

2010-10-31T19:36:00.001-07:00

We had a REALLY FUN Halloween!!! It started with......

a Halloween train ride......

Carving Pumpkins.......

went to the Trunk or Treat......

as Timberwolf.......

Ariel......

and Lightning Lad......

It was all worth the hard work to see the biggest smiles on their faces.......

Jacob turned 5!

2010-09-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

I don't like that my kids are growing up. It seems like just yesterday that I held one of my babies in my arms. I can't believe how fast time goes by. I remember when Jacob was born. When the doctor put him on my belly, I couldn't BELIEVE how heavy he was! He weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs. 9 oz.! He was such a cute, soft and squishy thing. He still has those yummy, squishy cheeks that I love to kiss and I hope they never go away. He is very sensitive and still loves to cuddle, which of course I love. I'm so grateful for such a wonderful little boy who brings so much joy to our family everyday.

He was such a serious baby. It took A LOT to get him to smile........and now he can't stop!

Jake and Lauryn decided to "help" me with the cake. Oh boy, was that a huge mess to clean up!!

But, they had A LOT of fun!

Dan "pimped" out Spencer's old bike that he grew out of, and Jacob was very excited about it!

He loves Ben 10!

I think it turned out pretty cute........Jake thought it was really cool!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Jacob!!!

Spencer turned 8!!

2010-09-21T19:31:00.000-07:00

Well, it finally happened. I wasn't ready for it, but it happened anyway. My oldest child turned 8 today. It's baptism time already? Am I really that old?

I remember the day he was born. I never loved anything more in my entire life. He was the easiest baby. He ate well, slept well, was happy all the time. The older he got, the more independant he became. Less hugs, less kisses, and more go, go, go! With that came a very strong-willed personality. He loves to learn and invent things. He wants to be a paleontologist and an oceanologist when he grows up. He is reading the 4th Harry Potter book.....in 2nd grade, I might add!! I'm very proud of him. He is excelling in all aspects of his life. But don't get me wrong, he is not a perfect child. He has his moments and they seem to be more and more recently and we are working through them everyday(and praying really hard that he'll grow out of it). I am so excited for his baptism. My sweet family is driving down from Cincinnati for our special event and Spencer couldn't be more thrilled! I'm so grateful that the Lord has sent me this wonderful little boy that has blessed my life in so many ways and has taught me more than I'll even know.

2 days old

He requested a Bakugan cake. So after much research, came up with this little number, but don't look too close........I'm an amateur!!

Thank you Nana and Popi for the fun gift!

He absolutely LOVES his new bike! He wanted to ride it to the bus stop and back today. He grew out of his old one WAY too fast!

LOVE YOU, SPEN!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Burnett Family Pictures

2010-09-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

A really awesome family in our ward let us stay in their home in the mountains of North Carolina last month. Dan's brothers and their families, Mom, Stepdad, and Grandma drove all the way from Arkansas to spend the week with us and we had a GREAT time!

The whole family. I love how you can never get everyone to smile....

Dan's Mom and Stepdad.

Dan and I riding the 4-wheeler! Woohoo!

The boys and their Momma.

The brothers.

All the cousins. Nice face, Jake!

Our little group.

LoLo

Jake

Me and my almost 8 yr. old. I can't believe he will be baptized next month!

Spen

I think it's about time......

2010-09-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

to update my blog, don't you think? Since the last one was June!!

Well, my cute boys started school. Spencer is in 2nd grade and Jacob started preschool. They were SO excited to go and did SO great and are STILL doing great! They absolutely LOVE to learn and they LOVE their teachers, so Mom is one happy camper! It took Lauryn about a week to adjust to the new routine. She would say, "Where is my Gakop and my Feser?" and "I wanna go to school!" There were some fits and tears, but she is doing great now.

On the way home from dropping the boys off at school, LoLo decided to draw on her legs instead of the paper I gave her! How can you be mad at that face?

I am so proud!

2010-06-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

(she got into my lipstick in this picture!)
My sweet Lauryn said her nighttime prayers all on her own last night. I was so proud and it was the cutest thing I've ever heard!

Lauryn: "Dear Heav'ly Fader, dank dee for home, church, "chew-boy," and baby Machew. The End."

She is SO cute, I could just eat her up!

And within the past week, she has become quite the dare devil at swimming. It makes me SO nervous! She stands on the side of the pool and says, "Do by self! 7, 8, 9 GO!" and she jumps in whether or not I am ready. She does really well, but I have to help her a lot still. I can't wait to see how much she has progressed at the end of the summer!

Jacob has grown in swimming this week as well. He has gone from holding onto the wall with fright, to doing the "froggie" (breaststroke) all on his own. I showed him how a couple of days ago and he picked it up really fast! The only thing is that he keeps his head under the whole time, instead of coming up for air after each stroke, but he doesn't care, he is SO excited that he can swim! He can also hold his arms out and kick really hard to get from one place to another. I'm so proud of him! I hope that by the time he turns 5, he can be on the swim team!

Spencer is another story. He is my difficult, hard-headed, stubborn, and insecure child. I really hope it's just the age and he'll grow out of it. With anything new that he tries, he wants to do it perfectly RIGHT NOW. He has no patience to just learn and grow slowly. At the YMCA pool, the lifeguards give the kids a swim test to see what level of swimming they are at, and then they receive a colored necklace according to what level they are on. Red is for beginner, Yellow is intermediate, and Green is advanced. Spencer has been really embarrassed to have a RED necklace. He compares himself to kids his age or older. When he sees that they've got green necklaces on, it makes him very jealous. I tried to explain to him that he needed to try harder to improve and then when he felt ready he could test again. Well the other day after swimming for a while, he said, "I feel confident. I'm going to test again." So he got the lifeguard and started the test. He was suppose to swim halfway across the pool without stopping. He tried really hard, but he hasn't learned that he can just lift his head to take a breath and then put his head back down and keep swimming. He just stands up in the pool when he needs to take a breath. The lifeguard gave him about 3 tries, but he couldn't do it. He was SO upset!!!!! He was crying and punching the lawn chairs. I hugged him and gave him a long pep talk about not giving up and to be patient, but I don't think it helped.

Today, I invited some friends to come swim with us to see if it would motivate Spencer, and think it did a little. When his friend took the test and got a GREEN necklace, he was pretty jealous. But after a while, he got over it and they had fun together. He kept telling me that he wanted to get a yellow necklace REALLY bad! So I told him that he would have to swim halfway across the pool for me first and THEN he could get tested again. He said, "OK." So, we'll see when that will be. I hope soon, so he can be happy and confident in himself.

Hawaii (Oahu)

2010-06-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

We flew to Oahu on Wednesday and boy, was it different from Maui! Honolulu was a very busy city with lots of people everywhere and we immediately missed the quiet, laid back feel of Maui. We stayed at the Waikiki Courtyard Marriott with all the other co-workers right in the middle of downtown. After we got settled in and a good night's sleep, Dan went to work and I walked around doing some sight seeing of my own and these are a couple of things that I saw....

This was a beautiful place to shop!

The marketplace was built around this really cool banyan tree.

I thought it was pretty cool to watch this guy carve these tiki statues.

Waikiki beach

Polynesian Cultural Center dancers. They were SO FUN to watch!

Ko'Olina

Dan and I met up with an old companion from his mission and his family at this beautiful man-made lagoon.

Dan's old companion, Mark, and his cute family. We had a great time at the lagoon. We snorkeled a little and I saw a sea turtle!! (sorry no photos)

We watched the beautiful sunset,

and went out to dinner.

Hawaii (Maui)

2010-06-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

Dan got invited by the "big-wigs" at Ecolab to go work in Hawaii and I got the opportunity to go with him! With the help from my Mom and Dad with the kids, we left on Saturday, June 5th, and got back June 16th. It was a long time to be away from my babies, but we had a wonderful and relaxing time! Hawaii is absolutely gorgeous! The beauty is breathtaking and the people are so warm and kind and excited to share their culture. Dan and I didn't get to have a luxurious honeymoon, so we considered this our 2nd honeymoon, even though he had to work part of the time.

The first place we went to was the island of Maui. The towns are so small, that if you blinked, you would miss it! There is a lot of sugar cane farmland and beautiful green mountains and blue beaches. Here are some photos of Maui........

Gorgeous scenic lookout.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of fires on the mountains because of the heat. We couldn't get up to a place called Lahaina for Dan to do some stores because they closed the road due to the smoke from the fire.

My sweet husband figured out how to purchase a flower lei online and have it delivered to me at the airport! This was the cute Hawaiian lady that put it on me. Dan got brownie points for that one!

The airplane ride was SOOO long!!!

Me at the Old Banyan Tree

The Old Banyan Tree was amazing! This HUGE thing is all ONE tree with drop-down roots everywhere. Very cool.

Me enjoying my first fresh island smoothie! YUM!!

Beautiful drive..

AHHH! Look at that!

Our first experience parasailing tandem!!! It was a blast!!

That teeny tiny speck under the parachute is us!! 600 ft. in the air!!

Woo hoo!

Enjoying the boat ride.

Eating at The Melting Pot.......SO YUMMY! (but way too pricey!)

Enjoying the beach

There were wild chickens everywhere!

Watched the sunset on the beach

Dan just being, Dan. I love this guy!

(Then we flew to Oahu. More posts to come!)

Random cuteness....

2010-05-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

Going to get ice cream together.

Spencer came up with the idea to make a "watch" for his teacher at school. It was a ribbon with a quarter hot glued to the front. So of course Spencer and Jacob both had to have one too!

Jake just being his goofy self!

Lauryn said, "My turn, my turn!"

Lauryn is ready for her job at Ecolab!

Lauryn's first fishing trip with Daddy and her brothers.

He said THE FUNNIEST thing!!!

2010-04-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

So it was bedtime. Dan was getting Lauryn ready for bed and I had just put Jacob in his bed with a book and walked into the bathroom to help Spencer get out of the shower.

Me: Ok, Spencer, it's time to get out.

Spencer: Do you have "Super-Vision"?

Me: What?

S: You know, you can see through stuff like this.....(makes superhero noises and gestures with his hands and eyes, like x-ray vision)

Me: Do you mean that I could see you through the door and knew when you were getting out and I came in right at the same time? Well, yes, I guess I do! ;)

S: (he picks up the shampoo bottle and reads) like........."Use under 'adult supervision'"

Me: LOL!!!! LOL!!!! LOL!!!!! Spencer, you are so funny! Do you know what adult supervision is?

S: No......

Me: It's when an adult watches over you or babysits you.

S: Oh!

Easter

2010-04-05T19:19:00.001-07:00

We had a great Easter! Mom made Lauryn's dress.......isn't it GORGEOUS??!!! And I made the boys' ties out of the extra fabric Mom sent to me. I thought the kids looked pretty darn cute!! Thanks, Mom!!

The Easter bunny showed up and brought the kids lots of yummy candy and a fun toy. Then we got dressed up and went hunting for Easter eggs. The kids had A LOT of fun, especially Lauryn. She was so proud of each and every egg she found. Then my favorite part was having the opportunity to watch General Conference on TV in the comfort of my own home!!!!! We got Direct TV last week and my life has definitely changed! I loved every part of GC. It was very uplifting and inspiring. It was just what I needed.

Hair.......my new hobby

2010-02-10T18:48:00.000-08:00

I love a little girl's hair all done up cute and perfect. Now that I have a girl of my own, I'm having a lot of fun playing around with her hair everyday. It's pretty hard because her hair is so fine and she cannot sit still! I have to be really fast and use bribes, but it is SO worth it because she is SOOOO cute!!!

Some of my favorites from Christmas...

2010-02-07T19:04:00.001-08:00

Better late than never.......

2010-02-07T18:25:00.000-08:00

When we were in Cincinnati for Christmas, I was able to see one of my closest friends from college. She was a big part of my life and such a big example to me. She still is. Love you to death, Amy! I'm SO glad that we got to see each other again and catch up!

We are missing one kid......Spencer. He was at a sleepover at his cousin's house.

What a good lookin' family!

friends together again!

Giveaway on my favorite blog....

2010-02-04T20:32:00.000-08:00

Have I TOLD you how much I LOVE this blog! I have her link on my sidebar (Make it and love it). This girl can do anything! She makes the most amazing things for cheap and they are so easy! She has posted this giveaway of the CUTEST girly stuff that I'm in LOVE with. Check it out.....

http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2010/02/get-ready-for-new-sponsor-and-giveaway.html

The cutest thing happened...

2010-01-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

Spencer has this friend named Sophie in his class. She is very cute. She wears glasses and always has a bow in her hair that matches her adorable clothes. She is VERY bubbly and outgoing. Spencer's teacher told me a while back that Sophie is in LOOOVE with Spencer and I thought it was cute and then thought nothing else about it.

Well, on Friday when he came home from school, he asked if he could call Sophie on the phone because they have a secret they needed to discuss. Dan said that little boys and little girls DON'T have secrets between each other. We left it at that. Then on Saturday, the phone rang, Spencer picked it up, and it was Sophie. She said that she called him on accident and meant to call her other friend from class. It was a quick conversation. I thought that was strange. Do little girls call boys at this age----7?

When Spencer got home from school yesterday he said that Sophie wrote him a note. He said, "Mom, what does 'you t me' mean?" I asked him if I could see it and this is what it looked like...

As you can see, this is a picture of Sophie and Spencer :)

This is what the other side of the note looked like!
I about DIED laughing!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it! It was a LOVE NOTE!! Spencer has NO CLUE and we are going to keep it that way! Dan says we need to talk to Sophie's mother (giggling) and ask her if she knows what her daughter is doing (giggling). This just tickled me! I must have the most dashing, charming little boy in all of 1st grade! :)

Gifts

2010-01-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

Every year for Christmas, my sisters and my Mom are SO creative in their gift giving. It's always personalized and handmade. My sister Heather made a memory game for each family personalized with their own family pictures, Joanna made cute handmade ornaments for a mini tree, and Alissa made countdown blocks and magnets! So you see, I can't just BUY anything! I knew they wouldn't care, but it means more to have something handmade. My first idea was to modgepodge coasters, but couldn't find the materials. I had made an apron for my Mom for Mother's Day and decided that THAT would be the project I had to do for my sisters. Each of them were made of scraps I had around like old curtains, sheets, and from old projects, and also the remnants from the clearance bin at Joann's. I think my sisters liked them and I thought they turned out REALLY cute!!

Joanna's apron

Alissa's apron

Heather's apron

My sisters are so cute! We missed you, Alissa!!! Maybe you can take a picture of you in your apron and send it to me and then I will post it. Love ya!

I know, I know......

2010-01-07T19:05:00.000-08:00

Many members of my family, who shall not be named, keep getting onto me about not blogging. Well, when you have a child in their "terrible twos" clinging to your leg all day, you don't really have time to sit down and blog. BUT, along with all my other many new years resolutions, I have made it a goal to blog twice a month. I think that's reasonable, don't you? I'm going to try REALLY hard. But this blog won't count because I have a lot of pictures to come of my trip to Cincinnati that I'd like to share. Coming soon.....

Race for the Cure

2009-10-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

I found out about a month ago that my Aunt Pam was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I was SO sad for her and I felt helpless with the information I was given. I live so far away and sending her my love and prayers did not feel like I was doing enough for her. This month is Breast Cancer awareness and I knew there was something else that I could do. I searched the internet and found out that here in Jacksonville they were doing the Race for the Cure and I thought......YES! That's perfect! I will run in her honor! Now, I don't claim to be a very good runner or fast by any means, but I like to run short distances and it was a 5K.....Perfect, sign me up!

On Saturday, it was the best weather for a run. Fall has officially come to Florida! AWESOME! We've been waiting all year for a relief from the heat. What a perfect day for this! I got my hot pink shirt on, my pink tenni-pumps, and my Breast Cancer bandana. I was ready to go. The kids and Mr. B were excited for me too. They dropped me off at the front with literally thousands of other people all dressed in pink! It was SO amazing! You could feel the energy and excitement from all the people coming together for a cause. We all lined up at the starting line and they played the Melissa Etheridge song, "I Run for Life." If you've never heard it, you need to. INSPIRING!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgiwrvEX8wY

I was SO pumped! The gun went off and we ran. As I was running/jogging I saw some incredible things. I had my shuffle, but I was so entertained by what was going on around me that I think I only listened to 2 or 3 songs the whole time. I saw cheerleaders lining the route all dressed up in pink tutus and hot pink wigs with their posters and pom-poms. The runners all had something pink on and the best part were the pink tags. You could pin a tag on you with the person's name that you were running for on it. It either said, "In Memory of" or "In Celebration of." A lot of the runners had the tags pinned on the backs of their shirts and some even had shirts especially made with the names already on it. Mine said, "In Celebration of Aunt Pam."

I remember I was just running along reading everyone's shirts as they all passed me (because I'm so slow) and I was feeling the spirit of everyone coming together running for someone that they loved. I saw one guy that had a picture of his mother on the back of his shirt, some said, "Save the tatas," one lady had a tag that said, "In Celebration of my Mom, my Grandmother, my Aunt, and my sister." Then I saw him. The one guy that stuck out to me. I only saw him from behind as he passed me. I could tell he was running by himself and I looked on the pink tag he had pinned to the back of his shirt. It said, "In Memory of my wife." That was it. I started tearing up. This was such a monumental experience. I felt closer to my aunt. I felt strong for her. I felt like I was supporting her from afar. Amazing. I loved it. It filled my spirit. I feel for all those who have lost a loved one to this disease. I feel for all those who have suffered or ARE suffering with this disease. I don't know what it's like, but it's gotta be a horrifying experience. But there is A LOT of love and support out there. I was amazed with how many were affected by it just here in Jacksonville. I will DEFINITELY run the Race for the Cure everytime they hold this event.

This was the coolest bra I've ever seen!

I will never forget it. I love you, Aunt Pam.

Fun at Fort Clinch

2009-10-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

Mr. B was home on Saturday and took us to Fort Clinch State Park. It was such a nice getaway after him being gone all week. We had SO much fun together!

A part of the park system since 1935, Fort Clinch is one of the most well-preserved 19th century forts in the country. Although no battles were fought here, it was garrisoned during both the Civil and Spanish-American wars. During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps began preserving and rebuilding many of the structures of the abandoned fort. Daily tours with period reenactors depicting garrison life bring the fort to life for visitors.

My little social butterfly! She HAS to say "Hi" and "Bye" to everyone. You can't help but smile.

Enjoing rootbeer and peppermint sticks from the little store. I think the sun was a little bright.

We even got to see them shoot a canon!

playing at the beach

after all the fun was over the little ones fell asleep, but the big one......

played in the back with his DS

General Conference

2009-10-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great General Conference weekend. I love hearing the words of the prophets and feeling the Spirit. I love hearing the testimonies and gaining strength to go and do what the Lord wants me to do. Everyday since General Conference, I've asked myself "Have I done any good in the world today?"

We listened the best we could with the little ones. We tried to keep them busy doing quiet things, but you know how long that lasts! They made a tent out of sheets (don't have a picture) and a train out of chairs on Saturday in the family room until it got too loud and then they were sent to their rooms to play. I tried to put Lauryn down for a nap, but she did NOT want to! I knew she just wanted to play with the boys, so I put her in her bed and let her cry for a while. Usually she settles herself right down and falls asleep. She stopped a couple of times, but kept on crying. Then Dan said, "Did you hear that?" I hadn't heard anything, so we just ignored it and about 5 seconds later, we hear Lauryn crying and it sounded closer to her bedroom door and then we heard banging on the door!!! I RAN to her room, opened the door, and she was standing there crying!!! I snatched her up as fast as I could. She had a red nose and forehead, so I assumed she climbed out of her crib and fell on her face! I felt SO bad! I had the "Worst Mother of the Year Award" that day! Needless to say, Mr. D lowered the crib TO THE FLOOR before I put her back in! If you click on the picture below to enlarge, you can see it....

On Sunday, the boys made chairs out of boxes. They thought it was the coolest thing ever! Lauryn's nose looked worse!

Once it scabbed over, she picked at it until it finally came off. I thought there was going to be a scar, but it looks good now. PHEW!!!

Jacob's Birthday

2009-09-28T17:58:00.000-07:00

My sweet Jacob turned 4! WOW! Why do my kids have to keep getting older? I wish I could freeze time so that I can hug them and kiss their delicious little cheeks forever! My memories from when they were babies keep fading, and it makes me so sad. Good thing we have photos and video. Too bad I still can't get my videos to upload..... :(

Jakie asked for muffins for breakfast, so I made pumpkin muffins and he got to open one present from Nana and Popi. Thanks, Nana and Popi! He loves it!

He got to invite 3 friends over for a superhero birthday party! We ate pizza and then they started right in on the fighting fun!

Lauryn even got into it! She wants to be a part of everything that the boys do.

We went outside for our superhero training. First was to save the babies from the burning building.

Next was to brave the snake pit!

And finally......kill the villain with silly string! I think that was their favorite part!

After their training, they won their power rings, which gave them their super powers! "I HAVE THE POWER!"

Opening presents

Blowing out the candles......the cake didn't turn out exactly like I wanted it to. The colors weren't right, but everything can't be perfect, right? Just as long as the birthday boy was happy, that's all that mattered!

Spencer's birthday

2009-09-23T20:14:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my baby turned 7!! That means he will be baptized next year! I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it.

Spencer wanted a pirate birthday party, so I told him he could only invite 3 friends because anymore than that would cause me to have a heart attack. It was SO much fun. I made bandanas and belts for the kids out of old sheets. I sewed little sacks to put their "loot" in. I also got little pirate sets for each of them at the dollar store that had an eye patch, knife, spyglass, and an earring in it. When everybody got here, they ate pizza and then put on all their pirate "garb." We went outside and played "pin the treasure on the x." Spencer drew a very cute map on poster board. They had a great time sword fighting too. Then we went on a treasure hunt.......

I spray painted a shoebox black and filled it with all kinds of fun stuff (chocolate treasures, snakes, lizards, eyeballs, and jewelry) and hid it in the bathtub. I made a map of where the treasure would be on a piece of brown paper bag. I ripped it all up, wrinkled it, burned the edges, rolled it up, and wrapped a ribbon around it. I have to say, it looked pretty cool. Anyway, I gave them clues and each clue led them to another one. I thought 7 year old boys would catch on to some pretty obvious clues, but the adults had to help them along quite a bit. It was very amusing. Then the clues led them to the map and the map led them to the treasure. It was SO much fun. Then we opened presents, had cake and ice cream, and I read them "Pirate Pet's Talk Like a Pirate" book while we waited for parents to come pick up their kids. Whew! I was pooped, but it was all worth it!

Waffles for breakfast on the "You are Special" plate.

Opening present from Nana and Popi before school. Thanks, Nana and Popi! He LOVES it!

Eating our yummy pizza at the party.

Everybody in their cute pirate attire.......even Lauryn :)

Looking for a clue.

Dividing the loot up.

Opening presents.

I really liked how the cake turned out!

The Pleated Poppy GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-09-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

The Pleated Poppy GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Lisa Leonard Designs Jewelry GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-09-23T19:55:00.000-07:00

Lisa Leonard Designs Jewelry GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Primary Program

2009-09-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Warning: This post is not your average "Everything is beautiful" post.......

Well, today finally came for the kids to show the parents how hard they worked ALL year on preparing for this special day. I'm not in the Primary anymore, but I was asked to sing a song with the children, so I was at the practices a lot. My children did great in the practices, so I expected the performance to go just as well for them. Spencer had prepared the same talk he gave in primary back in April and Jacob's line was, "Jesus was born into a family." We even went over it several times at home.

Now, I have to give you a little background in Spencer's performing experience. He has a PHOBIA! The biggest phobia I've ever seen in a child. Performance anxiety, I guess. You'd think that I could've passed on some sort of trait of performing to him, but alas, no! I tried teaching him piano, and it was the biggest fight of my life and it sucked ALL the energy that I had inside me. Needless to say, I went to bed completely frustrated for MONTHS! I finally decided to give up on it for a while and try back again when I've been recharged. Whenever he was assigned to give a prayer, scripture, or talk in primary it was SUCH A BIG THING! He would be fine at home when we would practice it and then when it came time for him to go up to the microphone and do it, he couldn't. One time he pitched THE biggest fit in front of everyone and it was totally, mortifyingly embarrassing for me. I've NEVER seen ANY other child act like that in primary. But I thought I saw some hope the last time he did his talk in April. I thought that he might enjoy doing an object lesson along with his talk for primary. We practiced and practiced and he was so excited to do it. Then when it came time to do it, he read it and did the object lesson perfectly without any problems. I was so proud of him and thought he was coming out of the darkness. Well, today was a different story. (p.s. a side note......Jacob has never had this problem!)

Getting ready for church was totally normal for us this morning. Except when I asked Spencer if he would practice saying his talk for me so I could help him with separating his sentences and talking clearly instead of like a robot. He totally freaked out and DID NOT want to do it, so we put it in his scriptures, and off we went to church. When we got there, everything was fine. But, the SECOND we sat down in the pew, Spencer decided to pick on Jacob, so Dan had to put them on either side of me. Lauryn was in my lap and WOULD NOT sit still and kept taking EVERYTHING out of the diaper bag, so I was getting a bit frustrated. During the passing of the sacrament, I thought it was the perfect time for Spencer to go over his talk.....he still DID NOT want to do it, so I whispered it to him in his ear, while he continued his whispering fit, all with rigid body slowly slipping out of the pew with disgust written all over his face. So, I finally said, I'm taking you out after the passing of the sacrament. Then he freaked out AGAIN and kept whispering, "I'll read through it, I'll read through it." I tried to ignore him. Finally, the sacrament was over. I took him out and talked to him about how I was trying to help him, but he was too angry to get over it. I hugged and kissed him and told him it would be great and we went in. The primary kids all went up to the stand and my kids weren't moving.........so I stood up and tried to take Spencer lovingly by the hand, but he was just dead weight in the pew. I pulled a little harder, lovingly, and he finally, begrudgingly, went up to the stand with me. Then I came back to get Jacob. He was upset because of the scene Spencer just made and had the look of disgust and horror as I took him lovingly by the hand up to the stand. WHEW! They were in their seats, but Spencer had his arms folded and the look of ANGER ALL over his face! Jacob had his head turned and was hiding his face in the back of the seat. I lost it. NONE of the other children had ANY problems getting up to the stand. NADA, ZIP!! It had to be MY children to make a scene and embarass me. I sad there totally distraught and COULD NOT enjoy the program, but I had to pull myself together so I could get up to sing my song. When it was time for Spencer to get up and read his talk, he got up and did it. But, we couldn't understand him because he was talking though his angry teeth. Then when it was over, he was totally FINE!! I went up, sang my song, came back to my seat, took one look at my children and lost it again. THEN, to top it all off, Jacob started SOBBING! The leaders let him just walk off the stage CRYING and come find me. AHHH! I took him out, hugged and kissed him and told him that I would go up with him and he could sit on my lap and it worked. He was FINE! Then when it was his turn to get up and say his line, he stood there at the microphone, put his chin down, tarted to cry, and ran back to me. He couldn't do it. When we started singing the closing hymn and he knew it was over, he started crying AGAIN because he wanted to say his line. The only thing that would get him to stop was telling him that maybe the leaders would let him do it in primary. They did, and he did it PERFECTLY!! WHAT THE???!!!

The events that proceeded this one in YW, were just as bad, but I'm gonna spare you the torturing details. It was a BAD DAY!! I seem to have a lot of those!

I still love my children no matter what. I know they are still learning the gospel. I know that they are just doing this because I'm their mother, but why did all the other children smile and sing and participate, and for my children it was torture????!!!!!

I don't think I'll ever know the answer to this question......

The fun nature brings......

2009-09-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

Dan came home yesterday after being gone all week, and we wanted to go do something fun as a family. So, we went to a park nearby with a nature trail and decided to go for a walk. At this time of year in Florida, there are grasshoppers EVERYWHERE. I'm not talkin' cute little ones in the grass, I'm talkin' the BIG DADDY of all grasshoppers! They are very slow, so we had to watch out so we wouldn't step on them. Dan picked up a couple and let the boys look really closely at them. Lauryn did NOT want ANYTHING to do with them! It's pretty cute to see the differences between boys and girls. Some of the grasshoppers were mating and the boys thought it was very cute! This was our conversation:

Spencer: Look, they are giving each other a piggy-back ride!

Mom: YES! They are! (LOL! ) Why do you think they are doing that?

Spencer: Well, maybe one has a broken leg and the other one is carrying it.

Dad: So, you think grasshoppers are compassionate?

Spencer: Yeah!

Mom: Jacob, why do you think they are doing that?

Jacob: Because they love each other, and they hug each other, and they give piggy-back rides to bed.

(I knew he was talking about when Dan or I sometimes give the boys piggy-backs to their beds at night, but it was just TOO funny!!)

Mom: That's exactly right!! (LOL!!)

(then he preceeds to tell me ALL about where their house is and what their bed looks like)

Jacob: Did you like my story?

Mom: Yes, I did! VERY much!

Time for an update

2009-09-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

I think it's about time for a new post, what do you think?............

In July, Dan got a promotion to District Manager, and since then our lives have been turned upside down. He is gone A LOT, so we have to keep ourselves busy and be creative. Dan bought me and the kids plane tickets to go visit my family in Ohio for two weeks and we had a great time!

my cute nephew, Andrew

Popi taught Spencer origami

Having fun at the waterpark

My sister, Joanna and Mom

Coming home from the waterpark

Having fun at the YMCA pool

Look at those adorable pouty lips! My nephew, Austin

"This little piggie went to market........."

Playing at the mall

Best Buddies!

Sitting in the heat at a Remote Contol Airplane show

Jacob just being himself :)

The Cincinnati zoo!

Feeding the birds

They loved running through the water mist tunnel!

Having fun pouring water on each other at Nana's house

We had lots and lots of fun and ate yummy food! Thanks, family! It was so good to be near you again, even though it was just for a little while. Love you forever!

Memorial Day fun....

2009-06-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

We had a cookout at the Kellars house and had a blast!

Fun outside

Fun inside.........Dan and I boxed each other on the wii and Bethany and Matt battled on Guitar Hero..............hilarious and SO fun!

Thanks, Kellars.......you're the best!

So hilarious.....

2009-06-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

I let Jake and Spencer pick out something for $1 at the store the other day. Spencer picked a rubbery lizard and Jake picked this...................................................

You're gonna pee your pants when you see this.................................

This is SOOOOOOO Jake! He is our little comedian......always keeps us laughing!

Dan, you're not from Arkansas or anything, are you?

Hey Dan, wanna give me a kiss? Maybe I had more fun with it than anybody else..........I'm still laughing..............

My baby turned 1.......

2009-05-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been a year already since I gave birth to my first and only baby girl. Lauryn Elizabeth Burnett was born Thursday, May 29th, 2008 at 3:03pm and she weighed 9'13'' and was 21 in. long (2 weeks early). She cried a lot after she was born. Her face was all bruised from the delivery and was so chubby that she couldn't open her eyes. She was so precious. We were so excited to have our girl!

She has grown up so much this past year and has developed quite a little personality. It is so neat to the differences between boys and girls. She is so sweet and loves to be cuddled and kissed. She ADORES her brothers and has to be everywhere they are! She also loves her Mommy, which is alright by me!! Here's some photos of her growing the past 12 months.

Blessing Day at 5 weeks, 2 months

3 months, 4 months, 5 months

6 1/2 months, 7 months, 8 months

9 months, 10 months, 11 months

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAURYN!!

She got a big girl car seat for her birthday and got to face forward!

That hat lasted about......2 seconds....long enough for me to take a picture. She LOVED the balloons...was totally mesmerized.

After Spencer went to school, Jacob, Lauryn and I went to the water park and played along with some friends from exercise class. She had a great time even though she felt a little "under the weather."

Totally worn out from the water park.

After naptime, we picked up Spencer from school and Lauryn got a present from Nana and Popi in the mail. She loves her first little purse! Thanks, Nana and Popi!

I made "Color Burst Cupcakes." Mmmmm, and SO CUTE! It took a lot of work, but it was totally worth it! Look at how cute those babies are! Lauryn had A LOT of fun eating hers!

Then we took the kids to Build a Bear Workshop at the mall and let the boys pick out an animal to stuff and dress to give to Lauryn as their present. I had to put this picture on here because it shows what was really going on. Spencer thought the "fluff machine" was too loud and that the whole process was too "babyish" for him (deep down, I know he liked it, he was just putting on a show), but Jacob was fascinated with the whole process and couldn't do much but stare.....much like Lauryn. After Lizzy, the kitty, was stuffed.......the boys..........ok, pretty much...... I picked out the clothes and dressed the kitty. They weren't too into that part. But once they saw how she loved that kitty and hugged it so tight, they decided it was fun and they loved it! Lauryn was SO cute with the kitty. She's already showing her nurturing side.

What a fun birthday....I love you sweet Lauryn!

The fire is out...

2009-05-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

Spencer's soccer team was called "Fire" and they did really well this season. They NEVER lost a game! There were some pretty incredible 6yr. olds on that team! It went by really quickly and we all had a lot of fun. He had practices once a week and a soccer game every Saturday. I have to say that he improved A LOT and we are very proud of him. He still doesn't really get how the game works and he's not that aggressive, but he had a great time and made new friends. That's all that matters, right?

After their last game, the coach handed out trophies to all the players. Spencer is VERY proud of his! Then they had jump houses and free food afterwards. We had a lot of fun and are DEFINATELY thinking about putting him in it again.

Nana and Popi came to visit!

2009-05-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

My Mom and Dad drove all the way from Cincinnati the last week in April to visit us and we had a BLAST!!

This is the chest my Dad made for us! Isn't it gorgeous? It's a tradition that my Dad makes each of the daughters a chest after they get married and it takes A LOT of time and sacrifice to get it done. And, WOW, look at the product! He is SO incredible at what he does. I just can't believe his hands made this piece of furniture. It has a beautiful shiny finish, 2 drawers on the bottom, an inlay of a star inside the lid, and it is fully lined in cedar wood! Dad, we will treasure it FOREVER! THANK YOU! WE LOVE IT!!

Mom and Dad took us to Disney World! We had a blast and made memories that will last forever! Our first day was at Magic Kingdom.......

Lauryn warmed up pretty quickly to her Nana and Popi. Here we are waiting in line for a ride and she's playing with her Nana.

Jake thought the train was too loud and Lauryn was so happy, she almost jumped right out of Spencer's lap!

The Swiss Family Robinson treehouse

Spencer wouldn't let us take a picture of him wearing the "Jack Sparrow" hat and wig, but Dad didn't mind! :)

AHHH....the day at Magic Kingdom is done.

Everyone was SO worn out! The kids didn't give me ANY trouble going to bed.

The next day was Animal Kingdom!! The boys were SO excited!!

Riding the tram to Animal Kingdom

The tree....it was SO amazing....look at all the intricate carvings!

On the safari, we saw lots of animals like giraffes and lions and trees called "upside down trees" because they looked like the roots were on the top.

Bein' silly

Lauryn fell asleep on the train ride....Yes!!!

Dinosaurland....the boys FAVORITE!!

Having fun at the resort!

Dad brought all the stuff to make ornaments and taught us how to do it. They turned out pretty coot!

This was my kids first experience with Disney World and Jacob was pretty much scared of every ride and Spencer turned white as a ghost after any kind of rollercoaster and was SO close to throwing up. The boys couldn't understand that it was all just pretend. Hopefully the next time they will know what to expect.

On the way home, we asked them what their favorite part of the vacation was and Jacob said, "jumping in the pool with Popi" and Spencer said, "Animal Kingdom." I have to say that Animal Kingdom was Dan and my favorite too. It was a lot less chaotic than Magic Kingdom and most of it was shaded to make you think you're in the jungle, which made it cooler :)

THANKS, MOM AND DAD! WE HAD A BLAST!!

Easter

2009-04-21T19:57:00.001-07:00

I forgot to take the pictures when the boys were still in their church clothes......oops. They didn't have anything new, but they looked pretty cute. We had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard, a yummy dinner, and a great FHE on the atonement. I think the kids had fun.

My best Martha Stewart pose......what a dork!

Everyday life

2009-04-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

Do you see that cute pony tail?

Jake thought this was pretty funny.......so did I!!

I found Jacob hiding under the table with my Halloween stamps.

Lauryn's new skill

Lauryn has been sick with a cold, ear infection, and teething for TOO long!!

My little soccer player

2009-04-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

This is Spencer's first year in soccer and we're not quite sure if it's his sport just yet. He likes to just follow behind all the boys and if the ball comes to him, he just lets somebody else take it, or he'll kick it wherever, which is usually out of bounds! I guess the competitive trait hasn't kicked in yet.

Spencer's spring break

2009-04-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

For Spen's spring break, Dan was out of town, so we tried to do some things around town. We had "Flat Stanley" with us. Flat Stanley was sent to us from my sister. "Flat Stanley" is a book and a 2nd grade class in Utah made their own Flat Stanley out of paper and sent them to different people. You're suppose to have him for a week, take him everywhere you go, take pictures, write in the journal, and then send it on to someone else. So, that's what we did. It was pretty fun.

We went to the park,

to Chick fil-a,

went for a bike ride with our friends,

and to the library to get the Flat Stanley book

then Spencer had to get a tooth pulled....that wasn't fun, but he was SO awesome through the whole thing. I was very proud of him!

we also went to see "Monsters vs Aliens" at the Imax in 3D......pretty awesome!!

I had to put in a picture of my little sweetie...she's got enough hair for a pony tail now!!!

Who's Tom?

2009-04-21T18:26:00.000-07:00

For a couple weeks now, Jacob has been talking about his imaginary friend, Tom. I've asked him who he is, what he looks like, and where he lives. Well, he tells me that he's a boy that 6 yrs. old, has straight black hair, and lives in Arkansas.

Jacob uses Lauryn's little baby toy and pretends that it's a phone and calls him and says, "Hi, Tom, wanna come over and have a play date?" When he gets off the "phone" he tells me that he can't come over because he's sick. I've been thinking about why he created Tom because Spencer never did anything like this. I've noticed that he brings Tom up a lot while Spencer is at school and calls him his "brother" and when he's playing with other friends, Tom is never mentioned, so I think Tom is replacing Spencer. Jacob just absolutely adores his big brother and I guess he's pretty lonely when Spenc is gone. It's actually pretty sweet.

The BEST trip ever!

2009-04-04T18:01:00.000-07:00

I had the most AMAZING opportunity to fly to Utah to go to the BYU Singers Alumni Reunion AND on the same weekend in Utah, my sister Joanna planned a California reunion! WOW, was it a busy weekend! I debated and debated as to whether I should bring Lauryn or not because she is still nursing, but in the end I couldn't handle being without her, since I've never been before. She was a trooper through it all, but she sure put me through the ringer! The airplane rides were pretty hard for her because she LOVES to get down on the floor and crawl around and explore. So I had to continuously keep her busy. Then I dragged her all around South Jordan, Kaysville, and Provo visiting some wonderful people that I hadn't seen for YEARS! She hardly took naps and wouldn't sleep at night, so I was basically going on adrenaline for 5 days.

Lauryn being good at the airport.

On Thursday, I flew in and drove to my friend, Lisa's house in South Jordan. Lisa was one of my best friends in elementary school in CA and I hadn't seen her since we bumped into each other at BYU about 8 years ago. It was SO fun visiting and catching up. Thanks, Lisa, for letting us stay at your place! Then we drove to the house where they were having the CA reunion and I saw a ton of old friends from girls camp and one of my best friends, Kira, from elementary school that I hadn't seen in about 15 years was there!!! I couldn't believe it! It was SO fun getting to know her again, I wish there would've been more time. I made the mistake of loosing touch, but I won't EVER do that again!

Kira, me, and Lisa

Misty, Joanna, and Shanda

On Friday night, I went to the BYU Singers Reunion dinner........SO FUN!! I hardly ate anything because I was so excited to talk with my "singer" friends and to listen to how their lives have changed and how they've evolved. I miss them so much! My sweet dear friends have such a special place in my heart. When you sing with other AMAZING singers, you create this spiritual bond that never goes away.

Erika, her hubbie, me, Melissa,

Kate, Marni, Rachelle, ?, and Liz

Melissa, Jill, Kate, and me

On Saturday, I visited with my sweet friend Kelly, who I knew from Arkansas, and she just happened to be living on campus at BYU with her husband and 2 kids. We had a great visit and her kids are such sweethearts! My dear friend offered to take care of Lauryn for me while I went to the BYU Singers Alumni rehearsal AND concert AND feed me dinner! Thank you SO much, Kelly, you're the best! (forgot to take pictures)

At the concert, I was able to hear the current Singers give their concert first. It was ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL! I was mesmerized the whole time. I could barely breathe! I miss it SO much it hurts! Then for the last 3 numbers, the alumni (which was about 200) joined them on stage. It was AMAZING and overwhelmingly emotional! Memories, memories, memories! I just soaked in as much as I could. I couldn't get enough. I needed that SO much. It was "food for the soul." On top of it ALL, my wonderful sister Joanna, and a bunch of our CA friends came to watch the concert! It was so special to see them there and it meant SO much to me. I sang with some of those beautiful girls when I was just a little girl, in Children's Choir and Girl's Ensemble. Such a long time ago and what good memories I HAD, and NOW what good memories I HAVE!

At the rehearsal giving a present to Sandefur, the woman who planned the whole reunion.

After the concert, I went to the reception and laughed my head off and had a great time. I visited with friends from different times in my life. I saw my very first voice teacher that changed my life at Ricks College, Brother Dresen. (sorry, Steve). I just can't call him by his first name, he'll always be Bro. Dresen to me. It was so hard to say goodbye and to pull myself away.

Sean and Jessi Coletti, and me

Sean, Aaron and Liz Cleavinger, me, funny Joni Jensen

Me and Joni

Courtney, Marni, ?, Liz, Kate, and me

Karissa and crazy Jill

Erin, Courtney and Kate

Me and Bro. Dresen

On Sunday, I spent the day with my sister and her in-laws. Thanks, Traci, for letting me stay at your place! I had a great time and my sister was so helpful with Lauryn. Thanks for everything, Jo! It was all worth it!

Then to end the trip, I went to lunch with my beautiful, most hilarious friend from Ricks College, Sarah Vance and her husband and 2 beautiful daughters. (Oops, I forgot to take a picture) Oh, I love Sarah. I miss her and those "Ricks College days." We were in my very first opera together. There is just not enough time on a trip like that to catch up on lost time. I live so far away........boo!

The airplane ride home was..........LONG...........and when I saw Dan and the boys waiting for me.......I could finally take a breath and relax! I was home. I was where I belong. The trip was SO worth it, but I LOVE my sweet family.

You know, I've been to lots of different places and have met lots of different people, but there are only some that are so special that I can't even express in words how much they mean to me, how much they inspire me, how much they've affected me throughout the years. They've taken part in how I've turned out today, and I will never forget their sweet, beautiful, special spirits. The Lord has had a wonderful hand in blessing my life with these people. I am eternally grateful.

"It was just an accident!"

2009-04-04T07:50:00.000-07:00

Spencer was taking a bath with Jacob, which he rarely does because he's too big. He usually showers. Anyway, Spencer was standing up in the tub washing himself and had his eyes closed. He went to sit down to rinse off and BOOM he sat on the tub faucet and broke it off.......snapped the pipe clean off! (Luckily the water was off!)

I tried not to freak out because Spencer felt really bad, but all I could think of was $$$$$$!!!!! This is our first house and repairs are not something we are very experienced at yet. Dan had to go to work the next morning, so he came up with a quick fix. He took out a couple of the tile around the faucet and out came ANTS (big ones) then he glued on another pipe and put the faucet back on and duct taped a big piece of plastic over it so we could still shower.

Over the next couple of days, we tried to research the quickest and cheapest way to repair it. We came up with the plan to just regrout that one wall and put some tile back on the hole Dan made. So he bought a Dremel and started to drill out the grout in between the tiles. It took pretty much the whole day. That night, we planned on some friends coming over for dinner. The husband, Eric, owns his own construction business. So he basically knew how to do anything and everything to a house. Believe me, I didn't plan this. We had already scheduled the dinner way before the accident happened. While they were here for dinner, Dan showed Eric the project and Eric offered to give us a couple boxes of tile and to help teach Dan how to retile the whole thing! Well, I think it took Dan about a second to say yes!

So Dan did the demo, which we needed A LOT more Raid for! (this "accident" was a blessing in disguise!) Then Eric came over and taught Dan how to put the backer board up,
lay tile, and grout it in 3 days. We were out of a shower for about a week and a half! We had lots of sponge baths........NOT FUN! You don't truly appreciate your shower until you can't use it anymore! But now, it's BEAUTIFUL!! I LOVE IT! THANKS AMYEE AND ERIC!!!

Great job, sweetie!

Now for the floor................

Time?

2009-04-04T07:29:00.000-07:00

How do you guys do it?? You know, blog all the time. I'm just no good at it. It takes me forever to download my pictures and then it takes me forever to come up with a fun way to talk about it so others will actually enjoy reading my blog. Then by the time I get around to it, the event happened a long time ago. So frustrating! Ok......I know why I'm not good at this.....it's because my family, no, my LIFE takes up all my time. Driving to and from school, errands to run, soccer practice, teaching lessons, and making sure Lauryn doesn't choke on the millions of tiny things she finds and sticks in her mouth, and feeding everyone. When it's naptime, I try to nap, after the kids go to bed, I want to spend time with Dan. So the big question is..............how do you find the time?

Lauryn

2009-02-27T21:06:00.000-08:00

Lauryn is learning to crawl and it is the cutest thing in the world! (I tried to upload a video, but it was taking forever, so I just canceled it. Any suggestions?)

This is her "down dog" pose after she lifted her head up. I don't know where she learned yoga moves!

I love this stage when they figure out how to get around and are curious about everything! It's definitely harder on me because I have to watch her more closely now, but she is so happy that she can "army crawl" to get to a toy or go play with her brothers. She just lights up when they are around and they just adore her so much. "She is just SO dang cute!" (as Dan puts it) We just can't get enough of this sweet little one that has blessed our lives.

When she wakes up from a nap or in the morning and I go to get her, I see this adorable face peeking out at me........

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-13T18:08:00.000-08:00

This Valentine's Day I wanted to tell my sweet valentine why I think he's the BEST. I don't think I tell him often enough how much I love and appreciate him. He really is perfect for me and I am so grateful that he is in my life.

Here are 15 reasons why I love "Dan the Man"......

1. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know. He truly cares about people and will help them in a heartbeat.

2. He can always make me laugh even on the toughest days. We were watching "Super Nanny" together a couple weeks ago (you'll like this one, Amy) and Super Nanny looked into the camera and in her cutest British accent said, "I've got to take a breava (breather)", she was obviously stressed out about the crazy children. Then out of the blue, Dan said to the TV, "Why, do you have a cold sore?" Oh my, I'm still laughing about that one! Did you get the joke? (she sounded like she said, "abreva", you know, the cold sore medicine!) He has a dry sense of humor, but even then, I still laugh.

3. He treats me with respect and tells me he loves me everyday at least 4 times a day. (when he kisses me goodbye in the morning, on the phone in the middle of the day, when he gets home from work, and when he says goodnight.) He has this secret fear that one of our goodbyes could be our last. He's such a worry wart.

4. He is so kind to others. If you haven't met him, I'll tell you right now that when you do, you'll love him. He is so outgoing and friendly. He will ask you 20 questions, (okay maybe 30+) when you first meet him. I love going with him to functions with a lot of people because then I don't have to worry about doing the talking, I can just sit back and nod my head.

5. He has a contagious smile. When I'm mad about something stupid, he looks at me with this cute little smirk and says, "are you still mad at me?" "How can I be mad at you when you smile at me like that?!"

6. He is THE best Daddy in the whole world! My boys love him so much that when he pulls into the driveway, they are already running out the door to greet him. He has a lot of fun with them, but also teaches them what is right, which leads me to my next one.......

7. He is a worthy priesthood holder and has a strong testimony of the gospel. He is also VERY knowledgeable about the scriptures, which leads me again to the next one......

8. He is the best missionary!!! His is NOT afraid at all to share the gospel. Because he knows the scriptures so well, he can answer a lot of questions that non-members have and refer to the Book of Mormon and then cross reference that with the Bible! He can also explain things very simply so that those that don't know about our church can understand it clearly. The missionaries LOVE it when he goes out with them. He is such a good example to me.

9. He loves music......all kinds. When he met me, he wasn't very cultured in the area of music, but I changed that. The first opera he ever went to was "The Magic Flute" at BYU, because I was singing in it. And because of that experience, his eyes were opened to classical music. Now, he doesn't mind if we go to the symphony or the opera. I can't forget to mention that he still loves to watch manly sports on TV. He's a big fan of Jack Johnson and Coldplay and has definitely instilled that into our boys. Everytime I go to turn on some music, the boys ask me to put one or the other on. They can also recognize it when they hear it!

10. He is a very hard worker. Ever since he was, I think 16, he's had to work for everything he had, so he knows the value of hard work. I don't ever have to worry about him providing for our family. He has only been with Ecolab for 2 1/2 years, but has already received 2 promotions, the Rep. of the year award for Ecolab AND the Rep. of the year award for the Southeastern district for 2008!!!! He would never tell you this, so I have to brag a little. I'm SO proud of you, Honey!

11. He is very honest and trustworthy.

12. He is the greatest gift-giver. He gave me THE best birthday ever when I turned 30! I always give him a budget, but he still goes over it no matter what I say. But in the end, it's turns out okay because he puts such thought into it and it always means so much.

13. He is an amazing poet! When we were dating, he would write me beautiful poems and he still writes some for me on special occasions. They always make me laugh and cry. He has always wanted to write lyrics for a song and I write the music. I keep telling him that I can't write music!

14. He is really good at his calling as an Elders Quorum teacher. All the guys always tell me what a great job he does. He doesn't even need much preparation, he's just naturally good at preaching what he believes in.

15. And last, but not least, he gives the BEST hugs ever! It always makes me smile when he grabs my arm to stop me from my running around to give me a big warm bear hug. He really knows what's important in life and helps me see that.

Dan, thank you for putting up with me and being such a wonderful person. I'm so grateful that I married you. You are "my perfect," as my friend Stacie says. Happy Valentine's Day! I love you forever!

Kids

2009-02-03T09:32:00.000-08:00

(This happened several weeks ago.......ok, like a month ago and I haven't posted about it.......I know.....pretty sad, huh?)

For some reason all 3 of the kids decide to give me a hard time when Dan is out of town.

Spencer called a little girl a "Do-Do Head" at school and "because he made a bad choice, there was going to be a bad consequence" (I tell him that ALL the time). When he does stuff like this, I make him write sentences. He absolutely HATES it, which is great, that means it really IS a punishment! So I gave him the assignment to write "I will not call people names" 12 times. He pitched a fit and yelled and screamed for 2 hours (I will spare you all the other details), but he FINALLY got it done. He is what they call a "stong-willed" child, which is an understatement.......

Jacob wouldn't take a nap, so all that came out of his mouth was a whine or a cry from 4pm on.

Lauryn only took a 1 1/2 hr. nap all day long, so there was a lot of fussing coming from her too.

Needless to say, the kids were in bed and asleep at 7:30pm and I was exhausted and had a terrible headache! I was asleep by 10pm, but Lauryn was up at 12AM screaming and crying!! Boy, Moms don't get any rest, do they!?!

The reason to smile....

2009-01-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

My boys say the sweetest and funniest things....

I picked Spencer up from school and he said, "Mom, I like your new sweater! It looks pretty on you." That made my day!

We sat down for dinner and Jacob said, "When I gwow up, I be a girla."

Mom: "No Jacob, you won't be a girl. You'll be a big strong man like your Daddy."

Jacob: "A boy changes and his skin wips off and he is a girla, a naked girla!"

He DID NOT just say that!!!!!!!!! AAHHHHHHHH!!!

When Dan got home they wrestled and played "boy" stuff.

Our favorite things

2009-01-23T19:20:00.000-08:00

Spencer's favorite present was his Tribot. Thanks Burnetts!

Jacob's favorite present was his Bumblebee transformer. Thanks Santa!

Lauryn's favorite present was her baby doll. Thanks Burnetts!

My favorite present was a visit with my sweet friend, Stacie Pabst, who I sang with at Ricks College about 8 years ago! I found her on facebook and found out that she lived in AR and I just HAD to see her and her BEAUTIFUL family. She is such a good Mom to 4 sweet little boys and an amazing Primary President. Our husbands really hit it off too! Someday we will live closer. I love you, Stac!

Her little baby, Sawyer, and my little Lauryn. Maybe they'll get married someday.

Dan's favorite present was a visit with his wonderful family. Thanks everybody, we had a great time! Thanks Sherry for letting us stay in your home and make a mess of it. We love you!

Fun at Grandma's house

2009-01-21T21:29:00.000-08:00

Dan hangin' with his bros.

My sister came over with her kids on Christmas Eve.

Santa came with presents for all the cousins. I can still hear the excited squeals!

This was the first time Grandma (Dan's Mom) got to see Lauryn.

Grandma lives in the boonies and we didn't think we could actually touch the wildlife, let alone ride it!

These are the best pictures we were able to get.....of course with a little bribe of M&M's!

Trip to Arkansas for Christmas

2009-01-21T21:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of our adventures in the car:

Sleepy Lauryn.....Hooray!!

Thank heavens for DVD players!

Sleepy Dan

Lauryn is driving? What? Don't worry......we were parked.

Stay tuned for more...........

My baby girl's photo shoot

2009-01-21T21:08:00.000-08:00

You can view the most ADORABLE photos of our little Lauryn here. They were done by my FABULOUS brother-in-law. Thanks Michael, we love them!

Thanksgiving Memories

2009-01-05T18:42:00.000-08:00

It seems like FOREVER that I've posted a blog. I am SO SORRY if you keep looking on here and seeing the SAME blog everytime. I know how ANNOYING that can be!

I'll tell you all about our wonderful holiday adventures..........

For Thanksgiving we drove to Cincinnati to see my family. The car ride was GREAT going up there because we left after dinner and drove all night while the kids slept. Or should I say DAN drove all night. I think I drove about 2 1/2 hours during the 13 hour trek. I just COULD NOT stay awake! Dan, I know, I'm a wimp and yes, you are the driving KING! Anyway, we got there safe and sound, but NEVER recovered from that night of driving. With my family, we just play and play and play. Like my Dad has always said, "A family that plays together, stays together!" I love you, Dad! We had the BEST time! We stayed at my sister, Heather's, house I just LOVED getting to know my sweet little nephew. He is SO cute! We messed her house up, ate her food, and did a TON of laundry. Thanks, Heathie...I love you!

During our fantastic week, Heather and I were able to do what we have always wanted to do together.....record a CD! It was such an amazing, spiritual experience. I just love working with Heather. We are like two peas in a pod. I am so proud of what we accomplished, especially Heather. She wrote the most beautiful, true, heartfelt song I've ever heard. Yes, she actually WROTE it.......music AND lyrics. The first time I heard it, I felt the Spirit and I knew she was inspired. Heather also arranged some of the other pieces and some of her old college friends arranged a couple as well. It was A LOT of hard work and took A LOT of time, but it was definitely worth it! If you are interested and want to read more about it and be put on the mailing list, please click here.

Some of our fun adventures in Cincinnati included:

Playing at an indoor playground

Running in the 10K Thanksgiving Day Race

Making Gingerbread Houses

The Children's Museum

Ate A LOT of GOOD food!

AND.........

Took A TON of pictures, thanks to my FABULOUS brother-in-law, Michael, the professional photographer! (McIntire Photography)

My 6 year old biologist

2008-11-11T18:14:00.000-08:00

On the way home from school yesterday, Spencer showed me this little rock that he found. He was SO excited about it! To him, it was the greatest treasure he's ever found! Then a little later at home, he came to me and said, "Mom, I did some research and I found out what this is! It is a chunk of a meteor! Look! It's come from this rock right here on this page!" And he showed me a picture out of his nature book.

Now he's keeping his little treasure inside this little watch. A biologist......just like his Daddy. I swear, sometimes I think there is an adult trapped inside that 6 year old body of his!

Belated birthday cake.....YUM!!

2008-11-11T18:04:00.000-08:00

Turning 30......

2008-11-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

Well, I had my 30th birthday.....oh, wow that sounds weird......I'm
30 now. When I was in high school and college, I always had a certain "idea" of what a 30-year-old was suppose to be like, and I don't think I have become what I came up with in my head. I thought 30-year-olds were suppose to have lots of kids and lots of money and have all this time to do things like: craft projects, housework, take care of the kids, run kids to and from sports activities, spend time on their spiritality everyday, be happy all the time, and have time to keep themselves fashionable and cute. Wow, that sounds like "Supermom!" Needless to say, I won't be mastering the "30 year old" anytime soon. But, I can say that I'm very happy with my life right now. There is ALWAYS room for improvement, but I have the best kids and husband in the whole entire world! Get ready ladies, after you read what my husband did for my birthday, you will be dropping a lot of hints to your husbands!

When I woke up in the morning, Dan had already left for work and there was a present on my dresser. I opened it up, and out fell a bunch of chocolate kisses along with a CD that said, "Insert into your computer and put your headphones on." So, I did what it said and up popped a cute slideshow of family pictures with music in the background. I thought to myself, "this is a nice song, I've never heard this before....oh wait.......that sounds like Dan's voice.......NO!!!!......He didn't!! Oh, yes......he did.......my husband wrote a love song and recorded it for me!!!!!" I was speechless and I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. And that was just the beginning.......

After I dropped Spencer off at school, Jake, Lauryn, and I went to Target. I LOVE Target!! I thought, "It's my birthday, why don't I just hang out and shop!" It was a lot of fun and the kids were great! As I was leaving, I got a phone call from my friend asking me where I was. I told her and then she said she was waiting for me in my driveway and she was going to watch my kids because I had an appointment to get a manicure and a pedicure! I was thrilled! It was the most relaxing 2 hours of my life! This lady massaged my legs AND arms, they also give you all the drinks and candy you want while you watch TV. My friend also dropped by and brought me lunch. Holy cow was I pampered!

When I got home, there was an "Edible arrangement" (chocolate covered fruit in the shape of a flower arrangement) sitting on my table. Then when my friend left, she said, "be at my house all dressed up with the kids at 4pm." I thought, "There's MORE??!!"

So, I did just that. When I got there she had a present from Dan for me. Inside was a card, chocolates (can you tell I LOVE chocolate!), and a purple sweater. My friend showed me that Dan had picked out some sunday clothes for me to change into. Well, the purple sweater didn't fit, so I couldn't wear it. Then she told me to leave the kids with her and I was suppose to meet Dan back at the house. When I got home, Dan walked out of the house with a shirt and a PURPLE tie on!! He wanted us to match! Oh, isn't my husband corny and cute all at the same time? Oh well, I just changed into something that would fit a nursing mother better, and he picked out another tie to match, so I wouldn't ruin his plans.

He drove me to this restaurant called The Bistro, which is in downtown San Marco. It was SO awesome! The food was SO good and we had a LOT of fun! As we were leaving, I called my sister and her husband answered and said, "Hey, aren't you suppose to be going to some fancy concert, or something?" I said, "WHAT???" Oops, he ruined the suprise. It was pretty funny...thanks, Doug! Anyway, yes, it was a fancy concert.....he took me to the symphony! Okay, do I have an awesome husband or what?? I know he would've rather gone to a football game, but took me to the symphony instead!

Whew! That was a long and exciting day. I was pretty tired after all that, but I really appreciate all my husband, friends, and family did for me that day. I had one of the greatest birthdays EVER! I will NEVER forget it! I love you all!

Our Halloween

2008-11-08T13:31:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything in a while because I've really gotten into the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I'm almost finished with the 2nd one, New Moon. It's been so great to get into a novel again and get my imagination going. It's so fun! What a great Halloween book!

We had a great Halloween! We made scary cupcakes...

We went to the "Spooktacular" at the Jacksonville Zoo a week before Halloween with a bunch of friends and the kids LOVED it! Everyone was dressed up in costumes and there were TONS of jack-o-lanterns EVERYWHERE! There was a lot of work that went into it. The only part that Jake REALLY didn't like was the "Living Trees." There were people dressed up in camoflauge and fake leaves hiding in the bushes and trees....in the dark! They didn't jump out and scare the kids, they just said "HI" and reached out to us. That scared Jake to death! He kept saying, "No more live trees, Mommy!"

We carved pumpkins the day before Halloween...

And we went to the Trunk-or-treat at the church....

We hope y'all had a great Halloween!

My first tag.....

2008-10-14T11:40:00.001-07:00

(my cute hubby, Dan, holding his first baby girl)

I've always thought that these tags I've read about were fun, but I've never been tagged.......until now. Thanks Brooke! It's been really fun thinking about my eternal sweetheart, especially in the "olden days." I've gotten really wrapped up in everyday life with kids and a husband who travels all the time and I've forgotten what it use to be like. Dan, we need to find a babysitter and go out on a date this weekend!

1. Where did you meet?
We met in Arkansas. He was investigating the church and was dating a friend of mine. I always thought he was cute, but he was already taken! There's just somthing sexy about a cute, sweet guy asking questions about the gospel.

2. How long did you date before you got married?
Um.....let me think......we dated for about 6 months and then he broke up with me! I was SO devastated and I will NEVER let him live it down! He got scared and went running. I always knew he was the one for me, so I was VERY hurt and confused when he did this. Then he came back a couple months later and wanted to be "FRIENDS," which was very hard for me because I had such strong feelings for him. Then I left with BYU Singers on tour to the West Coast of Africa and Italy for about 6 weeks. When I got back, he was on his knees with roses and chocolate begging me to come back and telling me he realized that he loved me and wanted to spend eternity with me. (Such a romantic) I guess "Distance DOES make the heart grow fonder." Then 6 weeks later, we were married on August 11th 2001 in the Louisville, Kentucky temple. (Almost exactly a year to the day from you, Amy!)

3. How long have you been married?
7 years and 2 months

4. What does he do that suprises you?
He does a lot of things to suprise me......he is very thoughtful. A couple of them are: He will call up my parents sometimes just to talk. He will clean the house AND take care of the kids if I have to go somewhere for a couple of hours. And for special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries he always puts a lot of thought into the gift and I NEVER know what to expect. I'm a little worried about what is going to happen on my 30th birthday coming up!

5. What is your favorite feature of his?
His hands. They are big and strong and always calloused, which shows what a hard worker he is.

6. What is your favorite quality of his?
His big, kind heart. He is ALWAYS kind to others. When you meet him for the first time, you'll be best buds. He genuinely wants to get to know people, so he'll play 20.......or 30 questions with you.

7. Does he have a nickname for you?
Babe.......it must be a guy thing because all of your husbands call you that too! When we were dating, he called me his "Lindsay-girl." On the inside of my wedding ring it says, "For my Lindsay-Girl."

8. What is his favorite color?
NOT green. His mother made him wear a lot of green when he was young because it made his eyes look greener, so now he doesn't like it anymore (sorry Sherry). I think he looks really good in green too.

9. What is his favorite food?
I've tried to get this out of him for 7 years and all I can get out of him is meat and potatoes with a lot of gravy. He is a southern boy and he likes his Mama's cookin', which I don't do because it's all FRIED! YUCK! Sorry, Dan.

10. What is his favorite sport?
I don't know because he likes to watch them ALL on TV (football, basketball, tennis, but not baseball). His absolute favorite game to PLAY is raquetball.

11. When and where was your first kiss?
I'm still bitter about this one....just kidding, Dan. He teased me for WEEKS when we were dating. He would come really close, and then just kiss me on the cheek. I was going CRAZY! So, one time when he was just talking to me really close and rubbing noses and teasing me, I just went for it........and BOY was it worth it!!! He is one GOOD kisser!

12. Favorite thing to do as a couple?
Rent a movie, he makes the popcorn, and we snuggle up on the couch after the kiddies are all snug in their beds.

13. Do you have any children?
Yes....Spencer is 6, Jacob is 3, and Lauryn is 4 months old and they LOVE their Daddy!

14. Does he have a hidden talent?
Yes......he is a poet.....and VERY good at it! I have a whole box full of poems that he has written for me over the years and some are funny, some are spiritual, and some are very mushy. I LOVE IT!!!

15. How old is he?
He just turned 30 in March and doesn't like it.

16. Who said I love you first?
I think I did.

17. What is his favorite type of music?
He listens to all kinds, but his favorites are Jack Johnson and Coldplay. There is a new one that he just told me about, but I can't remember the name of it.

18. What do you admire most about him?
There is A LOT that I admire about him, but the one that came to mind first was that he is a VERY hard worker. He's always had to work for what he's had in his life and that has made him a very humble man.

19. Do you think he will read this?
Oh, yes. He is always checking my blog to see what story I'm going to tell next.

I pass the tag to my sisters: Alissa, Heather, and Joanna.

WARNING!!!!!!!!

2008-10-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

THIS WILL HAPPEN TO YOU IF YOUR KIDS DON'T PICK UP THEIR TOYS OFF THE FLOOR!!!!!

TRY TO CONTAIN THE LAUGHTER!!!!

What do you think? Broken? Yup, you're right! Last night I just walked into the family room from the kitchen, caught my toe on a toy, and fell down. As soon as I looked at my toe, I just knew. I screamed,"Dan!!! I BROKE MY TOE! I BROKE MY TOE! IT LOOKS RETARDED!" I can't stop laughing as I'm writing this even now! It didn't hurt that bad when it happened, I was laughing at how it looked! After the doctor put it back in place and the numbness wore off, it hurt pretty bad. I've learned how to take care of three kids while crawling on my hands and knees and limping around. (I wouldn't recommend it) Just call me "Gimpy!" Best of all, Dan is out of town until Friday........so convenient!

He's making progress!

2008-10-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

After our big "Drama King" incident, things have gotten a lot better. Spencer actually WANTS to practice riding his bike! He has done it for a couple of minutes after school everyday and has improved a little more each day. He likes it when Dan pushes him and lets go on the grass because if he falls, it won't hurt.

He's gettin' there! Hooray for Spenc!

Lauryn is 4 months old.......already?

2008-10-13T19:47:00.000-07:00

Lauryn had her 4 month check up and got the dreaded 4 shots in the legs! She is at a healthy 17 lbs. and 26 inches long. She is 97% in height and weight....perfectly perportionate. I can't believe how perfect and beautiful this sweet little girl is. The Lord has truly blessed our lives with 3 healthy children that keep growing and growing and growing and........

She is only 6 days old in this picture. Look at that black hair!

All her black hair has fallen out and I think I might have a blondie on my hands!

We started a little bit of rice cereal and she did really good!

I'm starting to see a little bit of her personality come out now. She is very content if she has had a good nap and a full belly. She is a VERY good sleeper! She absolutely LOVES her brothers! They can make her smile and laugh so much easier than I can. She likes to sit in her bouncy seat or lay on the floor and watch them play. She is getting pretty good at grabbing things with her little "iron-clenched fists" as Dan calls them. And I think she is teething because she has her hands in her mouth ALL the time and if she grabs a toy, it goes straight to her mouth. Everywhere I take her, I always get compliments on how beautiful she is. The doctor even said that her eyes are stunning! Her eyes are still a really pretty dark blue and she has really long eyelashes. I hope they stay that color! We just love our little (big) bundle of joy!

Our poor lizard, Izzy

2008-10-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

WARNING......

MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR THOSE WITH A QUEASY STOMACH!!!!!

We don't really know what happened, but...........

I was teaching a piano lesson last week and afterwards, the siblings and my boys were all playing together in their room and they asked to play with the lizards. I said sure because they have before. I went to check on them and everything was fine. After they left, I went back in the room and our lizard, Izzy, LOST HER TAIL!!!!! GROSS!!!!!! SHE WAS WALKING AROUND WITH A BLOODY STUMP! AAHHHHHHHH!!!!! What's even worse, Dan was out of town and I just couldn't bring myself to throw it out! I couldn't even look at it! It was like a cut off finger!

When Dan got home I made him throw it out and, of course, I just HAD to take a picture! But, there is good news out of all this.......lizards grow their tails back!

I WARNED YOU!!!!!

Our General Conference Activity

2008-10-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

This is what we did while watching General Conference. What did you do?

No more binkies!

2008-10-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

It has been a week and 3 days since Jacob gave up his binkies and I am proud to say that he is doing suprisingly well! I was a little worried on the first day. We gathered up all the binkies and put them in an envelope for the "Binky Fairy" to pick up and give to all the babies who needed them. (Jake had to draw on the envelope too)

He was very, very sad. (as you can see in the pictures) We let him pick out a stuffed animal to cuddle up and sleep with and he chose a cute little doggie and named it "Coco." After we put the envelope in the mailbox, he cried, "My binkies, my binkies!" all the way back into the house and then some. I felt so bad for him! They were his best friends, and he had to give them away! But I had to be strong and stick to my guns.

The next day, "The Binky Fairy" left Jacob something really exciting! There was M&M's (his favorite) and a blue power ranger (he's going to be that for Halloween) in the package.

Naptime?? Well, let's just say there wasn't any unless we were in the car going to pick up Spencer and by the time we got back, it was over. Bedtime?? Well, it was VERY hard for about 3 or 4 nights. When I laid with him, he would just squirm and say, "I can't sleep, Mommy!" But when Daddy laid with him, he was asleep within 5 minutes! It must be that big warm body of his.

Everyday is a little better. Today I laid with him for naptime, and he fell asleep within 5 minutes and slept for 2 1/2 hrs! Tonight for bed, he cried for his Daddy (Dan is out of town ALL week!) for a couple of minutes, then talked quietly to himself for 10 minutes and fell asleep. He has done A LOT better than I thought he would!

"If at first you don't succeed...try, try again"

2008-10-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

(Spencer on his 4th birthday)

This is the saying of the week for my kids. For some reason Spencer has a difficult time with things that are hard for him, then when Jacob sees the way Spencer acts, Jacob does the same. Today I said, "Who wants to go on a walk?" and they all said, "I do!" They were all excited, then Spencer said, "can I ride my bike?" You have to understand that he hasn't asked to ride his bike in probably a year! We bought his bike for his 4th birthday and the excitment only lasted for a couple of weeks. Then it has been a hit and miss ever since then. He is definitely NOT the daredevil in the family. When he has rode it in the past, he fell down and has been scared ever since. So, you can understand my excitement!

So we aired up the tires, got helmets on and started off. Spencer did really well for about a block and then he started leaning to one side on the training wheels and was afraid he was going to fall, so he got off and yelled, "I HATE BIKES! I'M NEVER RIDING IT AGAIN! I'M GIVING UP!" Well, we have tried to teach our sweet 6 year old that we shouldn't be so quick to anger....hmmmm I wonder where he gets that :)! Nothing we said or did helped encourage him to get back on his bike and try again. I played the good guy and Dan played the bad guy. I told him that you can't just give up because something is hard! Then Dan told him the story of how his Dad taught him how to swim. He said, "My Dad took me to the creek and threw me in and kept doing that until I learned how to swim. My 6 year old son is going to learn how to ride a bike whether he likes it or not!" I thought to myself, how is he going to MAKE him? You could've got some popcorn and sat in our driveway because there was quite a show! After taking the training wheels off, which just made it worse, and A LOT of screaming and crying coming from Spencer, we made him get on and try again with Dan holding onto the back. I stayed in the driveway with Jake and Lauryn and I could hear the crying and screaming all the way down the street and back. It took them a while because when Spencer felt the bike leaning, he thought it was going to fall, so he bailed and started running down the sidewalk. And then they had to start all over again.

Just when I thought it was all over, Dan said, "OK Hon, now it's your turn with him." "WHAT! You are going to make me do it too?" He said, "We have to be in this together." So, I still took the "good guy" side and tried to be upbeat and encouraging (good thing Dan was there with me because when he isn't, I usually loose my cool) all the while Spencer still screamed and cried all the way down the sidewalk and back. Then as soon as we got to the driveway, he jumped off as fast as he could, ran in the house, slammed the door, and ran to his room. "OH BOY, he is already acting like this and he isn't even a teenager yet!" I have got my hands full!

(Sorry no pictures or video of this one, it would've been priceless!)

Jacob turns 3!!

2008-09-29T19:56:00.001-07:00

I'm so glad the birthdays are over! Having two so close together is pretty tiring even when you don't do that much.

Jake's birthday was a lot fun. When we were sitting down for breakfast, the phone rang, and it was Dan. He had been out of town for 4 days and called to wish Jacob a Happy Birthday. Jake LOVES to talk on the phone, so when Daddy called, he just lit up! During breakfast, which had to be the same as what Spencer wanted....donuts, he opened Nana and Popi's gift. He loved it! Thanks, Nana and Popi! Then we took Spencer to school and went to the park with a friend from church that has a little girl Jake's age. They had a lot of fun together. Then I bought him a happy meal and went home so he could take a nap.

Then Daddy came home, which was the highlight of the day! My boys just adore their Daddy and can't get enough of him! When he goes out of town, everyday the boys ask me, "Mommy, when is Daddy coming home?" It breaks my heart, but Dan is working really hard and really making a good name for himself in the company. We are all VERY proud of him!

Jake asked for pizza for his Birthday dinner, so that is what we had and he helped me make some brownies...and licked the spoon...of course! He decorated them all by himself.....so cute and yummy too! Then he opened MORE presents. I can't tell you how excited he was! He said things like, "NO WAY" and "YESSSSSS". He got some transformer toys and transformer pajamas (thanks Aunt Kelli, Uncle Chris, and Grandma!) and he ran around saying "I'm Bumblebee! Watch me transform into a robot!" If I dared call him Jacob, he said, "NO! I'm Bumblebee!" It's funny how much your kids can be like you even though they didn't know how you were as a child! I used to say, "I'm not Lindsay, call me.......Didi!" I would make up all sorts of names and then play that character. The drama must run in the family! I'm sure my whole family remembers that VERY vividly!

(Jacob wasn't wearing any clothes because he had been wearing his power ranger costume all day and it got too hot)

My baby isn't a baby anymore....besides the love of the binky. I was going to get rid of it, but I chickened out! I know, I know, he is 3 and it is WAY past time, but those mothers out there that have had a child that loves his binky KNOWS what I am talking about! I don't know if it is more for him or for my sanity!

Spencer turns 6!

2008-09-24T11:39:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my oldest turned 6! The time has slipped away from me. Dan and I wanted to take the boys somewhere special for their birthdays. Since we did a combined birthday party last year, I didn't want to do one this year. I found out that the circus was in town and we thought that would be a fun idea, so we invited another family that had two boys Spencer and Jake's age and we went. It was a lot of fun! Spencer really enjoyed it, but to my suprise, Jake got bored after about 30 mins, so we tried to keep him occupied with food. I asked Spencer what his favorite part of the circus was and he keeps changing his mind, but today he said, "the house cats doing tricks." Yes, I don't know how they did it, but they trained domestic cats to do tricks!

His actual birthday was the next day, Sunday, so that night after the circus we decorated the house with streamers and balloons. The next morning, he was pretty excited to see all the decorations and to have it be "his" day. I don't think Jacob was too happy about it because he went around tearing down all the streamers and balloons and then running away while Spencer ran after him screaming, "JACOB, STOP DOING THAT!"

Then we got out the "You are special" plate and told him he could use it for all his meals that day. He told me he wanted donuts for breakfast......YUM, but not too good for the Momma's hips! So before church, we had donuts and opened Nana and Popi's present, which was a HIT! Thanks, Nana and Popi!

For dinner, Spencer asked for dinosaur chicken nuggets with french fries and KALE for dinner!!!! Yes, ladies and gentleman, my children LIKE vegetables! I have trained them from the very beginning that they have to eat veggies everyday, so I served it to them everyday whether they ate it or not and we would bribe them with a dessert afterwards. Now, they like them and of all the veggies, my son picked KALE!! I made it one time when I was on a diet and he liked dipping it in Ranch, but I thought it was disgusting. Well, that's what he wanted, so that is what he got! I made it a little different and he told me it was too salty this time......darn it! Oh well.

Then I made his cake. He asked for Tunnel of Fudge cake, which is my favorite......like mother like son......and I let them lick the bowl. He and Jake decorated it....very cute....we sang, had cake and ice cream, a couple more presents, played Spiderman, then we had to settle them down and to beddie-by they went.

Creativity

2008-09-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

I know some incredibly talented people. One being my sister, Joanna McIntire, and my good friend, Mariah Brown. Check out the links to their blogs on my sidebar (JoNielCreations and Mariah's Creations) By the way, Mariah is doing an earring giveaway, so if you are interested in entering, the deadline is October 5th. (just click on her link on my sidebar)

Burnett Look-alike Meter

2008-09-02T20:18:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

What did they just say?

2008-09-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

I love reading about what other people's children say on a daily basis, so I would like to share a couple funny moments in our house......

"Lauryn is dreaming about cheerleading." -Spencer
(I didn't know he knew what cheerleading was!)

"My nose is stuck!" -Jacob
(I assume he had a stuffy nose)

"No poop in my britches!" -Jacob
(Imagine him saying that word without the "r"!!!)

"Have kids in my bum." -Jacob
(I really don't know what to say about that one!)

Labor Day

2008-09-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

We wanted to go for a jog on the beach for Labor Day. So, we went to the beach where you can drive out to the water. When we got there, there wasn't much driving happening. The tide was really high because of the two storms coming, Gustav and Hannah. There wasn't enough beach to jog on, the water was really rough, and Jacob had an accident. So it wasn't very fun, but it was Lauryn's first trip to the beach and the wind didn't bother her as much as I thought it would. The boys liked playing in the sand for a little bit. Maybe next year will be better.

Another thumb sucker!

2008-09-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

OH NO......another thumb sucker! It was SO hard to break Spencer of the habit of sucking his thumb. It was less than 6 months ago when we found the incentive for Spencer to stop. He wanted a suit for church...?....whatever works! And then.....he started back up last week! So, we have to start all over again! Lauryn is in love with her thumb. I tried giving her a binky, but she just spits it out and puts her thumb back in! Oh well, it makes her happy and helps her fall asleep. I guess we will worry about breaking the habit later on!

Jacob is potty trained!

2008-09-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

With a lot of encouragement and M&M's, my little Jacob finally did it! We had a hard 3 days, but after that he really got the hang of it! It has only been a week and he is a pro! We are so proud of him!

Boys new favorite hiding place

2008-08-24T20:44:00.001-07:00

We survived Fay!

2008-08-24T20:14:00.000-07:00

So, on Tuesday I heard there was suppose to be a hurricane coming our way and that we should be prepared. I only had a few things accumulated in my food storage, so I went to the store and got a radio, flashlight, extra batteries, and water. Dan was in Memphis and was suppose to be flying in on Wednesday, so I was worried he wouldn't be able to come home. Well, the more I listened to the news, the more things changed. They said it wouldn't be here until Thursday and then they said that it wasn't a hurricane anymore, it was a tropical storm. Dan was able to fly home and be with us and Spencer's school was canceled Wed-Fri. Then when the storm hit on Thursday, there was A LOT of rain and wind and lucky us, our power went out for 26 hours! There is only so much board games and coloring you can do in the hot and humid house until you go CRAZY! I was trying to think of what the pioneers would do in this situation. How was I going to build a fire to cook dinner when it was so wet outside? We had dinner at the mall instead. Here are some photos of our adventures.

The kids trying to stay busy with their paper dinosaurs.

Branches and vines fell in our backyard and our street flooded several times.

This is what Dan looked like after he took the garbage out.

My baby is in Kindergarten!

2008-08-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. My baby, Spencer, is all grown up and going to public school. It wasn't too hard for us because he went to preschool last year, but I still got a little weepy thinking about how quickly my babies grow up. I look at my kids sleeping soundly in their beds after a day of yelling, "STOP IT!" a million times and regretting a lot of things, and I can't believe how big they are. I am constantly asking myself, "Am I doing the right thing?" and a lot of times, I don't know the answer, I just do my best. I think having three kids has been my greatest challenge in life and some days I don't know how I'm going to get through it. Spencer wants to smother his sister with hugs and kisses, Jacob whines all the time and can't get out of the "baby" stage, and Lauryn wants you to hold her and feed her all the time. But at the end of the day, I look at their sweet faces, and my love for them grows even more. I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for my sweet children.

Garden Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2008-08-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

Garden Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

FHE activity

2008-08-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Dan gave a great lesson for FHE and we were actually able to get through the whole lesson without yelling at the boys to "sit down and listen!" And suprisingly, Lauryn stayed asleep in her swing! If we make sure we have an activity and treats after the lesson, it's usually a good incentive for them to be good. So after the lesson, Dan planned a very cute activity. We painted our feet and made footprints of everyone in the family. A good keepsake we will have for a long time. Everyone had a lot of fun doing it, except for the baby. She didn't care for the wet paint on her ticklish feet... the boys thought that was pretty funny!

My kids make me laugh!

2008-08-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

My boys love to hang out and be goofy. Here are some cute moments:

My little construction worker.

Spencer always makes a funny face when I try to take a picture.

They like me to flip the LCD screen around so they can look at themselves when we take a picture.

Jacob wasn't feeling very good this week and I just had to take a picture of my "sicky."

My sweet baby Lauryn

2008-07-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry about this...I was trying to get her to smile and take the picture at the same time...and this was the best one. You can see how chubby she is in this picture!

I had to take Lauryn to get her first set of shots yesterday..... YUCK! They had to stick her 4 times and give her a fifth one orally. She was such a tough girl. She didn't cry much, but her face turned a bright shade of red! After that, she slept most of the day and night. She is the best baby out of all three (knock on wood)! She sleeps all night, puts herself to sleep for her naps during the day, and hardly cries unless she is hungry! The doctors told me she is very healthy and a whopping 15 lbs. and 24 inches long at only 8 weeks old! Can you believe that? How do I grow such big babies? The Lord has blessed me SO much! He sure knows what I can and can't handle and having this sweet baby has made the adjustment a lot easier.

I love my big brother!

2008-07-25T20:13:00.001-07:00

Spencer has found a way to make Lauryn smile! She just adores him!

I love those chubby cheeks! I can't help but kiss them all day long!

Fun at Chuck E Cheese

2008-07-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

To keep the boys busy this summer, they had chores to do everyday and for each duty, they got a sticker on their incentive chart. When they filled their charts up for a couple of weeks, I promised a trip to Chuck E Cheese's. Well, they worked really hard and deserved it! We had a lot of fun playing all sorts of games together.

Swimming lessons

2008-07-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

Spencer started swim lessons this week with his friend Zachary. They are having a blast and doing really well!

Spencer's new skill

2008-07-13T19:36:00.001-07:00

Spencer learned how to tie his shoes! We are very proud!

Boys haircuts

2008-07-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

Dan took the boys with him to get haircuts. As you can see, Jacob had to be bribed with a sucker! The picture of Dan was taken by Spencer. He heard that his cousin, James, likes to take pictures, so he wanted to try it too!

Dentist visit

2008-07-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to a new Pediatric Dentist on Friday. It was Jacob's first visit to the dentist and Spencer's third, but they were both pretty nervous. After much hesitation and bribing with a trip to Dairy Queen afterward, they finally decided to cooperate. They both did a really great job. We were very proud! And...no cavities, Hooray!!

Fun with the kids

2008-07-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, we went to the Hands On Children's Museum with some friends and had a lot of fun!

Lauryn sleeps!

2008-07-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

Last night, Lauryn slept through the night for the first time and she is only 5 1/2 weeks old! I felt very refreshed this morning. All the mothers out there know how great it is when they sleep so well for the first time. It is awesome!

Lauryn's blessing day

2008-07-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Dan blessed Lauryn in Sacrament Meeting. We sure missed all of our family! It was a beautiful blessing and Lauryn looks so beautiful in her new blessing dress. She couldn't wear the dress that my Mom made for all the grandaughters because she is a lot bigger than the other babies were at this age. Sorry, Mom!

Spencer lost his first tooth!

2008-07-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I was upset with the kids, as usual, because they wouldn't clean up their toys like I had asked them to about 50 times! Spencer was acting like a kitty cat, his new favorite game. He crawls around hissing and grabbing things with his mouth. Well, at this particular moment, he had a magnetic dart in his mouth and so I came over and took it out of his mouth all the while saying, "How many times do I have to ask you to pick up your toys?..... and take that out of your mouth!" and quietly, but with a worried tone Spencer said, "Mommy, I think you pulled out my tooth!" I changed my tone instantly!

I was so excited for him! I was giving him high fives and shouting, "Hooray! Now you get to put it under your pillow tonight and the Toothfairy will come and take the tooth and leave money for you!" Then he said, "I can taste blood!" and he started freaking out, so we went into the bathroom and I put a kleenex on the area and he started to gag and turned and threw up a little bit in the toilet! After he finally settled down about the whole bleeding issue, he took one look at himself in the mirror and said, " I look so weird!" and he ran to the corner. I guess he was embarrassed and didn't know what to think. I gave him some time alone and eventually he got used to the idea and started playing with the space with his tongue and saying words that sounded different. The next day, he proudly showed off his dollar to everyone that the Toothfairy left for him.

My big, hungry kids!

2008-06-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

I had to go shopping the other day because my kids have grown out of everything! Spencer wears a size 7/8 and is only 5 yrs. old, Jacob wears a 5T and is only 2, and Lauryn wears a size 3-6 months and size 2 diapers and she is only 4 weeks old! They don't stay small in my family for long! I also decided to get a Sam's Club membership because my boys are constantly saying, "My tummy hurts, I'm hungry!" after I had just fed them 30 mins. prior. They eat me out of house and home, but I love them anyway.

Jacob's Pastime

2008-06-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

Jacob is our little Rock n' Roll Star! He loves to dance with Daddy, but only to Coldplay or Jack Johnson. (Like father, like son). If I want to listen to something else, he has a huge fit! They had a lot of fun last night. Daddy has been a relief for us. When it's just Mommy and the kids, it's been a bit stressful and contentious, so we love it when Daddy comes home. There is a lot more laughter and joy! What would we do without our Daddy?!

Click here to see Jacob and Dan's dance moves!

Am I a blogger now?

2008-06-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

I told myself that I wouldn't conform and be a blogger, but I have enjoyed all of my family and friend's blogs so much, that I decided to cave! So, for my first blog I decided to catch up on what is going on in my life.....

4 weeks ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Lauryn Elizabeth Burnett. She was born May 29th at 3:03 pm and weighed 9 lbs. 13 oz.! You say that's big, huh? Well, let's just say that wasn't the biggest baby I've given birth to! Her brothers, Spencer (5) and Jacob (2), adore her so much that Lauryn and I get pretty claustrophobic and have to make boundaries. I was told that going from 2 kids to 3 was going to be hard, but actually living it is another thing! We are not adjusting very quickly! The boys are pretending that they are deaf and can't hear a word I say, Jacob started biting and won't quit whining, and on top of it all, Lauryn won't stop crying! What did I get myself into!!???

Last Sunday I decided to go back to church, since the baby was born. I started getting everyone ready at about 7:30am and barely made it to church by 11:00am. Then, in the middle of Sacrament meeting, Lauryn decides she is ready to eat and starts crying (it had only been about 1 1/2 hrs. since her last feeding). So, I go to the mother's lounge and feed her and while I was changing her, she peed all over her dress. I had to change her again. By the time I was done, I was exhausted and ready to go home. Needless to say, I didn't get any spiritual upliftment from my visit to church. I don't know how I'm going to be able to do this! I sound really negative, but that's just the hormones talking. My Mom keeps telling me it will get better, so I just take it day by day and count my many blessings! I don't have to do it all by myself all of the time. I'm really lucky to have such a wonderful husband who helps A LOT, but he does have to work and earn money to feed all these wonderful kids!